Semiotics: Codes
Chandler's Questions:
- Do the codes have double, single or no articulation?
- Are the codes analogue or digital?
- Which conventions of its genre are most obvious in the text?
- Which codes are specific to the medium?
- Which codes are shared with other media?
- How do the codes involved relate to each other (e.g. words and images)?
- Are the codes broadcast or narrowcast?
- Which codes are notable by their absence?
- What relationships does the text seek to establish with its readers?
- How direct is the mode of address and what is the significance of this?
- How else would you describe the mode of address?
- What cultural assumptions are called upon?
- To whom would these codes be most familiar?
- What seems to be the preferred reading?
- How far does this reflect or depart from dominant cultural values?
- How 'open' to interpretation does the sign seem to be?
Daniel Chandler's notes on Semiotic Codes
In one of its original uses in information theory the word "code" (as in civil code or dress code) designates a system of either compliance or violation. In linguistics it designates the language system as a structure that is internal to language. In sociology or anthropology, "code" designates systems of behaviour (as in codes of good manners) within collective representations. Moreover, within everyday language the word "code" always indicates a wide variety of systems accounting for a number of uses, such as the zip code or Morse code.
A code is therefore an associative field constructed by an analyst that reveals any logical or symbolic organization underlying a text. Hence, it is not at all necessary to see it as a rule or an obligatory principle. (in Aumont et. al., Aesthetics of Film, 160-1) |
1. Social codes [In a broader sense all semiotic codes are 'social codes']
- verbal language (phonological, syntactical, lexical, prosodic and paralinguistic subcodes);
- bodily codes (bodily contact, proximity, physical orientation, appearance, facial expression, gaze, head nods, gestures and posture);
- commodity codes (fashions, clothing, cars);
- behavioural codes (protocols, rituals, role-playing, games).
2. Textual codes [Representational codes]
- scientific codes, including mathematics;
- aesthetic codes within the various expressive arts (poetry, drama, painting, sculpture, music, etc.) - including classicism, romanticism, realism;
- genre, rhetorical and stylistic codes: narrative (plot, character, action, dialogue, setting, etc.), exposition, argument and so on;
- mass media codes including photographic, televisual, filmic, radio, newspaper and magazine codes, both technical and conventional (including format).
3. Interpretative codes [There is less agreement about these as semiotic codes]
- perceptual codes: e.g. of visual perception (Hall 1980, 132; Nichols 1981, 11ff; Eco 1982) (note that this code does not assume intentional communication);
- ideological codes: More broadly, these include codes for 'encoding' and 'decoding' texts - dominant (or 'hegemonic'), negotiated or oppositional (Hall 1980; Morley 1980). More specifically, we may list the 'isms', such as individualism, liberalism, feminism, racism, materialism, capitalism, progressivism, conservatism, socialism, objectivism, consumerism and populism; (note, however, that all codes can be seen as ideological).
Examples:
Film Genre Codes involve:
- narrative - similar (sometimes formulaic) plots and structures, predictable situations, sequences, episodes, obstacles, conflicts and resolutions;
- characterization - similar types of characters (sometimes stereotypes), roles, personal qualities, motivations, goals, behaviour;
- basic themes, topics, subject matter (social, cultural, psychological, professional, political, sexual, moral) and values;
- setting - geographical and historical;
- iconography (echoing the narrative, characterization, themes and setting) - a familiar stock of images or motifs, the connotations of which have become fixed; primarily but not necessarily visual, including décor, costume and objects, certain 'typecast' performers (some of whom may have become 'icons'), familiar patterns of dialogue, characteristic music and sounds, and appropriate physical topography; and
- filmic techniques - stylistic or formal conventions of camerawork, lighting, sound-recording, use of colour, editing etc. (viewers are often less conscious of such conventions than of those relating to content).